Real Friendship
Episode 5 of At A Distance, Spring Is Green begins with So Bin sharing drinks with Min-Joo and Young-Ran. They talk about their boy troubles before turning their attention to food. Meanwhile, Yeo Joon finds himself conflicted over the Soo-Hyun situation. He leaves the hospital early, determined to start working again. Only, the manager at the construction site is concerned for his well-being and encourages Soo-Hyun to get another job. At school, Chan-Ki takes Yeo Jin aside to talk, Instead of getting violent, he shoots off a whole list of things about So-Bin. Yeo Joon is not impressed though and simply shrugs it off, claiming he’ll ace the So Bin test. He also refuses his handshake when Chan-Ki suggest they become friends. Yeo Joon doesn’t want this fake friendship, instead clinging to the notion of being close to Soo-Hyun. Part of that desire comes from bringing in the files from home. Yeo Joon speaks to Joon-Wan, who manages to obtain them for him. However, he also tells Yeo Joon not to go home either. Yeo Joon is of course going to go, but first hands over the sales notes as agreed. When he catches up with Soo Hyun later on in the episode, Soo-Hyun hands over the money owed for the hospital stay and remains dead-set on paying off his debts. In the office, Jung-Beom sabotages So-Bin’s work and takes her name off her essay. If that wasn’t enough, all the girls in school start giving her grief when they claim she’s dating Joon. Professor Song starts marking the work but it takes Park getting involved to save her skin. He notices So-Bin’s work on the laptop and tells Song that this belongs to her. So-Bin starts having a panic attack outside, reminded of painful memories of the past involving her mother having an affair and the kids teasing her. While Joon’s “friends” start scheming about getting revenge on Soo-Hyun, Joon receives a call from So-Bin and hurries off to try and help her. She’s having none of it though and even worse, Professor Song tells her to quit and leave. Elsewhere, Yeo Joon heads to the bar to pick his friends up. However, he finds Soo Hyun’s notebook in their bag and quickly grabs it. When Soo-Hyun rings and invites him to dinner, Joon drops everything and heads over to meet him. Only, it turns out Soo-Hyun is actually working as a waiter. He called Joon over to pay for an expensive meal for him. Outside, the pair talk and air out their concerns. Soo-Hyun admits that every time he sees Yeo Joon he’s reminded of his brother. He’s obviously despairing about his situation, but he lashes out against Joon. On the back of this, Joon turns away from So-Bin and Soo-Hyun, heading back to his old group of friends. He’s not exactly happy though. Thanks to Joon’s “friends” berating him at the cafeteria, Soo-Hyun loses his job. In fact, the head chef was just waiting for an opportune time to fire him. Yeo Joon happens to be listening to all of this though and heads to his place to check on him. He doesn’t say anything but does keep a distance when he notices him sobbing. When they do eventually catch up later in the episode, Soo-Hyun apologizes for bringing him to the restaurant. He admits that he felt pity for Joon and could see how anxious the meal made him. Eventually the pair go their separate ways, with Yeo Joon unable to open up and move past his comfort zone.
The Episode Review
At A Distance, Spring Is Green returns with another solid chapter that hones in on the pain our central trio of characters are feeling. Each of them are going through their own mental battle, which is clearly taking its toll on them. Yeo Joon’s pain comes from loneliness and an inability to make any real friends. These kids at school that just leech off him are just using him, while he’s unable to connect with Soo-Hyun thanks to their differing fortunes in life. Although Yeo-Joon has all the money, he doesn’t have a fulfilling life thanks to his family that have abandoned him. By comparison, Soo-Hyun pushes everyone around him away and works so hard to pay back any debts. He teeters on the poverty line and struggles to open up. He does have his brother to rely on though, which envies Yeo-Joon given he doesn’t have that sort of bond. Then you have So-Bin. She’s still a bit of a third wheel in all this but it’s clear she’s got some mental trauma built up through bullying and her Mother’s affair. What’s particularly interesting here though is that each of these characters have their own issues and so far are unable to accept and understand what’s happening to the others. It’s a really fascinating balance and easily the highlight of this thus far. The ending leaves many question marks over this one though, as Soo-Hyun, Yeo Joon and So-Bin continue their march through this school year.
